#ISBF8 - Brewday 1 : Redwillow
An ambition. Call it a tick off on the bucket list. Call it whatever. But whenever members of the #ISBFFamily have that conversation - as beer nerds do (Rob Gordon style) - about Top 5 UK breweries, there's one we all agree on.
There's a fairly stringent criteria. Consistently exceptional across a diverse range of styles. From Pale to Dark. Lagers to Funk. Table to 8%+.
And one of the breweries we all agreed on, resides by the railway. Redwillow. In Macclesfield.
And we'd never helped to brew there. Which meant that a question needed to be asked.
Fortunately, Toby & Caroline McKenzie have always “got” what ISBF is about. And supported the event throughout. And welcomed us with open arms.
It was 8:15. And there was a busy day ahead. For the entire Team Redwillow. (And they'd just come off a multi day canning run!)
Walking into the brewery, we located Toby and had a chat. One of the easiest people to talk to in the business, we talked over a few things and got to the business at hand.
What we were brewing. We'd batted around a few ideas, with Toby settling on something Pale with multiple hops and multiple hop additions. With both UK & US hops, on a base of Maris Otter with a touch of Crystal for colour and added body.
He introduced me to Tom & Dan. Tom's face looked familiar, then he reminded me he was one of the Five Clouds team! We'd had one of their delicious beers at (I think) #ISBF4 and I have fond memories of the bar they had on Sunderland Street in Macc.
Dan was brewing today and talked me through the process we'd be using with respect to the hopping.
With Goldings & First Gold from the UK and Chinook & Columbus from the other side of the Pond, 5kg of each were secured and we were off to mash in.
And then I saw the kit…..
With automated mash paddles, mashing in was less “hands on” than we're used to!
Once cleaning had been completed, it was time to weigh the first of many hop additions. 2kg per addition, made up of 500g of each hop, this happened 4 times with each addition separated by approx 15 minutes, certainly got the steps in up and down the gantry once we'd started transfer to the copper and the wort reached boil, which didn't take long at all on this efficient kit.
Emptying the mash tun was quick and efficient, once the mash paddles were given the chance to empty the vessel.
The spent barley - soon to be off locally for farm feed
I was in such awe of this kit - and Dan's mastery of it. This kit and the brewery usage of it, combined with the undoubted skills of the Brewing team - and their absolute commitment to meticulous processes - are what makes their beer some of the very best in the UK.
Goldings, First Gold, Chinook & Columbus - in aromatic harmony.
Transferring to the Copper for the boil
I can never get bored of the smell of Hops, so 4 additions during the boil were an olfactory party, every 15 minutes, the senses tingling with fruity aromas all around. (And that was all BEFORE the final 12kg+ went into the whirlpool!)
All the while - whilst Dan was working his alchemical magic - the brewery was a hive of activity, with multiple processes taking place, deliveries, canning, cask washing, QC work, it was really all go.
With boil finished, the remaining 12+kg of the hop blend was added to the whirlpool to maximise aroma & flavour. And that Olfactory Party was again in 12” remix mode!
The final 12kg of hops go in!
Following a hop rest for the wort, there was a slow transfer to FV6, with the wort entering at a low temperature to help produce a cleaner, crisper tasting beer. Once the house yeast was pitched, our work here was done!
Yeast being “pitched” (And look at that lovely pale colour!)
So. What did we brew? A Continuously Hopped Transatlantic IPA, at an abv of around 5.2%. To be first seen on the Cask bar, from the wood, at #ISBF8. And if the smells throughout this process are any indication, it’s going to be a simply beautiful thing. And ….It’s Redwillow. So you should know it will be banging!
Want to try some? Got your tickets for #ISBF8 yet? If not, click this link. You know it makes sense!
Huge thanks to Dan, Tom, Teg & Sam for tolerating the ISBF intrusion into the day! And huge thanks to Toby & Caroline, two of the nicest people in the business. And I don’t say that lightly.
Back Soon. (With 2 more brewdays!)